CANADIAN HANOVERIAN SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

Michael Boyd, Chairman, CHS

George von Platen, President Hanoverian Breeders Club of Western Vice President: Barbara Beckman (Manitoba) Secretary-Treasurer: Charlene Spengler (Alberta) Directors: John Dingle (British Columbia) Matthew von Platen (Alberta)

Inga Hamilton, President Hanoverian Breeders Club of Eastern Canada Vice-President: Ruth Hanselpacker (Maritime region) Secretary/Treasurer: Ursula Hosking (Ontario West) Directors: Louise Masek (Ontario West) Greta Haupt (Ontario West) Marjorie Haus (Ontario West) Lynda Tetreault (Quebec)

CHS Newsletter: Isabelle Schmid CHS Website: Jessica Lauzon

May 17, 2019

In this Issue:

Canadian Hanoverian Society Chairman’s Message by Michael Boyd Hanoverian Breeders Club of Eastern Canada President’s Message by Inga Hamilton Hanoverian Breeders Club of Western Canada President’s Message by George van Platen Canadian Hanoverian Inspection 2019 Tour Schedule of Major Fees in Canada for 2019 Eastern Canada Hanoverian Breeders Club Annual General Meeting 2019 - draft minutes Miscellaneous

Canadian Hanoverian Society Chairman’s Message by Michael Boyd

The foaling season is now well underway and I hope all our members’ foals arrive safely and healthy. In this newsletter you will find information on our 2019 inspection tour schedule. We hope that as many members as possible will present their foals for registration at the inspection sites. Our judge from this year will be Dr. Ludwig Christmann. Note that a decision has not yet been made regarding shows and mare performance tests at the three inspection sites in Alberta. Members interested should contact the Western Club president George von Platen.

Foals presented at inspection sites will be eligible for the Gold Medal Award from the Verband and the top ten of these foals will be awarded the Albert Kley Top Ten Foal Award. This year these top ten foals will each receive $100 from the CHS and the Top Bred foal and the Top Jumper Bred foal will receive an engraved pewter plate. At the Mare Performance Tests the top scoring Dressage Bred Mare and the top scoring Jumper Bred Mare will each receive an engraved pewter plate and $100 each from the CHS.

The executive of the CHS have also decided to add a new award: The Top Hanoverian Competition . Members can nominate a Canadian bred Hanoverian dressage, jumper, hunter or event horse and this horse will receive an engraved pewter plate and $100 from the CHS. Members should email or mail Michael Boyd their nomination by January 15, 2020. The nomination information will include the horse’s Life Number, breeding (ie. Sire/Dam’s sire), breeder and the horse’s detailed competition results for 2019 and earlier.

The Verband is hosting the biannual meeting of the district club, Hannoveraner International on August 7th in Verden. This meeting will be attended by George von Platen, who is Vice President of the association, and Inga Hamilton. I cannot attend due to a marriage (not my own) that I am attending on the long holiday weekend.

A reminder to our members, Equestrian Canada has a very informative publication, “Best Practices for Buying and Selling a Horse”. Copies are available in English and French by contacting the EC office for the cost of postage. The publication is also available for downloading on the EC website, www. equestrian.ca. From their home page click on Industry, click on Horse Health and Welfare and then click on Resources and scroll down to find the publication.

Branding

Beginning this year Germany has banned the branding of . The Verband has decided they will allow those countries that do allow branding to continue to do so. Our breeders will have the OPTION of branding their foals or not branding. For those who do not wish their foal(s) to be branded the foal must be microchipped. The microchip must conform to FEI standards. Note that the American Hanoverian Society has decided to brand their foals with only the “H”.

We had very good participation in voting as to whether our members would prefer to brand with only the “H” or continue with our practice of branding with “CD” under the “H”. In total we had 62 members send me their vote. The vote was extremely close with 34 members preferring to continue the current practice of branding with HCD. We had 28 members vote for branding with just the H. In addition, I had emails from three members who expressed an opinion to not allow branding at all.

So we will continue with our practice of branding foals with HCD for those who want their foals to receive the brand. This vote can always be revisited in the future.

Hanoverian Breeders Club of Eastern Canada President’s Message by Inga Hamilton

Dear breeders!

Thankfully spring has sprung! The first foals have been born and many of us are anxiously waiting for the arrival of the next generation. Hopefully all goes well for everybody. It is such a precious time of the year.

We had a great weekend in Charlottetown, PEI at our AGM in March. It was a fun filled weekend with lots of opportunity to meet with different breeders during some meals or even just strolling through town. Besides our meeting, we had the opportunity to visit a couple of different Hanoverian breeding farms (Ruth Hanselpacker's farm and Virginia Cooke and Andrew Keilly's farm). We were treated to a special presentation by Lisa Schultz and Thomasina Orr on behalf of Pfera.

Lisa discussed SEO (search engine optimization) and Marketing for breeders highlighting a lot of the tools available especially through social media. Thomasina then discussed the software available for breeders with Foal Point and the Foal Point Scanner by Pfera.

Jackie Harlow discussed tips on sales photos for horses, common obstacles, and editing tips; and then Amanda Stright finished the photography discussion about how to work with a photographer, and some of the tools to get the right shot on your own.

We also visited the Atlantic Veterinary College, where we went on a tour through the hospital. Dr. Martha Mellish had a presentation on Managing the Equine Digestive System and also touched on Fragile Foal Syndrome. All presentations were well received.

The draft minutes from the meeting can be found later on in this newsletter.

I wish you all a successful foaling and breeding season and hope to see many of you at our inspections later on this year.

Hanoverian Breeders Club of Western Canada President’s Message by George von Platen

Dear Members and Breeders,

Our long cold winter is over! The warm weather and green grass is so nice to see after this last winter.

The first foals are being born and another year is on its way. Branding in is, dreadfully, over. I still think it is sad that so much heritage won't be carried on over there. For us in Canada, the Brand stays. But we do have a choice on whether to brand or microchip. The cost for the chip will be a lot higher than branding but I still hope we can continue with our brand. If you would like your foal microchipped, you have to have this done by a veterinarian BEFORE THE INSPECTION DATE. Contact me, George von Platen, if you need more information on the chipping. My email is: [email protected]

There have been new stallions imported that will call home from PEI, all the way to BC. This is something for the Breeders to keep in mind for the upcoming season.

Hopefully the grass will grow and our hay prices will be more reasonable in 2019. Best of luck to everyone for the foaling and breeding season!

Canadian Hanoverian Inspection tour 2019

Wednesday, Thursday, August 28-29 Parkwood Stables; MPT and mare show. Saturday, August 31 South Lane Farm Sunday September 1 PEI; MPT and mare show Tuesday, September 3 Dreamscape Wednesday, September 4 Dreamcatcher Meadows, mare show and MPT Thursday, September 5, Edmonton Friday, September 6, Alberta, Olds College Saturday, Sept 7 Calgary

Schedule of Major Fees in Canada for 2019

1. Entrance fees

a) for new active members $ 380 Can

For breeders who only want to breed one foal, only $150 entrance fee will be charged. If this active membership does not get cancelled by the end of the year the remaining $230 will be charged.

b) for new passive members $60

2. Studbook inspection fees a) for Hanoverian main/studbook $120 (Hann.,Hess.,Rhld.,Westf. and TBs) b) for non-Hanoverian main/studbook mares from studbooks, which are members of the German Equestrian Federation $200 c) for non-Hanoverian main/studbook mares from studbooks, which are not members of the German Equestrian Federation $240

3. Mare Performance Test

Performance Test 60.00

4. Re-registration fees a) re-registration for cancelled mares after change of owner 80.00 b) re-registration for cancelled mares for same owner 70.00

5. Change of ownership a) inclusive registration under new owner name 80.00

6. Fee for issuing pedigree papers and branding a) pedigree papers for foals 195.00 b) DNA parentage verification 50.00 c) branding of foals 15.00 d) issuing a duplicate registration paper 350.00 e) issuing a confirmation of identity 350.00

Eastern Canada Hanoverian Breeders Club Annual General Meeting 2019 – draft minutes

March 30, 2019 Charlottetown, PE

In Attendance: Inga Hamilton, Lousie Masek, Samuel Jeanson, Ruth Hanselpacker, Virginia Cooke, Andrew Kielly, Regula Strehler, Becky Strehler, Stephanie Gallant, Jacquelyn Harlow, Eveline Keyser, Dean Peach, Karen Strehler

Presenters: Lisa Schultz, Thomasina Orr, Amanda Stright

1) Welcome

Inga Hamilton welcomed everyone to the meeting and talked about how the Maritimes are the fastest growing area of membership. Peter and Regula Strehler have been breeding Hanoverians on PEI for a while. The Hanoverian breeding in the Maritimes increased when Ruth Hanselpacker imported a Hanoverian Stallion. Ruth currently has two stallions on the farm and more on the way. Ruth Hanselpacker is also currently the VP of the Eastern Canada Hanoverian Breeders Club.

Thank you to all of the generous sponsors – Aileron Stables sponsored half the meeting room cost, Omega Alpha donated door prizes, Capall and Stargazer Farms provided refreshments, and Ilsley's Feed donated a door prize

2) The 2018 Minutes were reviewed and presented for Approval

The 2018 minutes were reviewed Inga Hamilton put forth a motion to approve the 2018 minutes Louise Masek approved the motion and it was seconded by Virginia Cooke

3) 2018 Financial Report

Inga reviewed the 2018 Financial Report. She was pleased to say the Club made money last year. Direct memberships are paid to the Club and then the fees are paid to the Hanoverian Society. There is also some revenue from clothing at times. Items like hats, shirts, etc. are sold to help promote the breed and give members some items to wear.

The expenses include Awards – mostly framed photos for Foal and Mare show winners. There are also show costs for hosting larger shows $800 to help cover the cost of lunch, toilet facilities, etc. The fees are paid to Verband and Travel expenses for Inspectors and test riders.

There were two questions from Louise regarding the expenses on the financial report. 1: What is included in the $375 Day Fees. There was some discussion and the Hanoverian Society pays for the test rider's flight directly. Inga confirmed she would look into what was included in this line item.. (This was for travel and day fee for judges)

2: Louise also noted that there was a difference between the money brought in from the inspections and the $13,200 paid to the Verband. Inga explained that this would be due to the $50 rebate given to people who bring foals to the inspection.

Inga put forth a motion to approve the 2018 Financial Report. Ruth Hanselpacker approved and it was seconded by Stephanie Gallant.

4) CHS Report

Under the German Hanoverian Society in Germany there are District Breed Associations which are made up of the Local Breeding Clubs. In Canada, the Canadian Hanoverian Society (CHS) oversees the District Breeding Clubs (Eastern and Western).

Mike Boyd the President of the CHS wrote a letter to the attendees. (Refer to following article.) He touched on the 2018 Financial Report, Stallion Service Auction, Income from semen shipments, etc. There were lots of positive points including the fact that the CHS has a healthy cash balance. The 2019 Inspection Tour has been set; the Awards programs have been well received including the New Gold Medal program.

The letter also touched on item 5 of the Agenda, as of 2019 Branding of foals is no longer allowed in Germany and they are implementing a microchipping system.

The report from the sale of semen was also discussed. Of note there were 4 orders from American buyers in the last shipment and there has been interest in some newer\less known stallions. The imported doses should now be released from CFIA and ready to go for anyone who has ordered. The current inventory list is now on the website.

Tammy and Jackie organized the stallions consigned for the Stallion Service Auction. There were 17 stallions in the auction and 2 were donated from Club. Jackie mentioned that Tammy knew the ropes, and that they did miss out on some stallions as the owners had already donated to other auctions. She recommended that perhaps for the next auction they should contact owners sooner in the fall.

5) Branding and Micro-chipping in Canada

Branding is no longer allowed in Germany.

In Canada owners will have the option of not branding, but if not branded the foals must be chipped. The regulations for microchipping vary by Province. In Germany the inspector can microchip. Ruth said that PEI regulations are it has to be done by a vet or supervised by a vet. Inga said that in Ontario it can be done by the inspector and that she has not yet been trained to chip horses. There are some concerns of liability if the inspector was to do the microchipping.

Inga said when she checked with a vet, she got an estimate of around $100 to put the chip in plus the cost of the chip and call fee, this is quite a more than a $15 brand.

There are a variety of both microchips and chip scanners. The chips that will be used would need to be the ones in accordance with FEI standards.

Ruth mentioned that if the foals were all chipped at the Inspection it would only be one call fee.

Inga said that sooner or later the microchips will be required, so how do members feel it should be dealt with.

There were many people who felt if it is going to be required, why not just start now and get used to it.

Louise mentioned concerns over the lack of long term information/studies on microchips in horses – especially if implanted in a foal. Will there be migration? Could there be any granulation or scar tissue around the chip that would affect the horses neck muscles?

Another concern was that perhaps a chip cannot be scanned if the wrong scanner is used. Inga mentioned she had seen that happen where in one instance the chip could not be found by the scanner used by an FEI official, and the next time it was no problem to scan.

Virginia asked if they could give people a choice for the 2019 inspection.

Inga stated that historically every foal has been branded and there were owners she saw who would have preferred not to. In situations where the owner really didn't want to brand, they could register Rhinelander because the breed doesn't require the foals to be branded. The microchips are costly, but so is breeding.

The foals would ideally be chipped before the Inspection, and if they aren't chipped they won't get their passport. They would have to provide the microchip registration number for the passport. It was suggested that this be added in on the Inspection forms.

The chips used are unique chips and the ones standardized by the FEI would be used.

Samuel mentioned that the advantage of a chip is that it is traceable and has more information than a brand.

Inga said the traceability of horses is an issue that EC has been taking about for over 15 years. So she wondered if the Club should be proactive and roll it out.

Then Inga mentioned the second part of the issue being the actual brand itself changing. Previously in Germany the brand was just the Hanoverian “H” and then added numbers underneath. In Canada there is a small CD, USA has a small US, etc. The US requested to just use the “H” now, so would the Club want to maintain the CD or use the “H” alone?

There was a lot of discussion around pride of having the CD identify the Horse as Canadian bred, or is there an increased marketability in comparison to US or Imported by going with just “H”. It was also mentioned that this could be a short term decision if the move to solely using microchips happens soon. There was a 50/50 split when the room was polled whether to keep the CD or remove it from the brand. Someone did ask if there would be a cost, but the CD can be removed from the branding iron, so a new iron wouldn't be needed.

Inga then mentioned that coming down the line at some point it could be a veterinarian that does the foal inspection – the microchip, markings etc. This is just the inspection part, not the foal show that would still be done by judges. And again in Canada, it could be different by province.

There was further discussion about other breed societies and clubs that still brand foals. Oldenburg NA still has branding; Dutch, , and Westphalian are optional.

Microchipping is already being done if horses are being shown in the US.

Ruth mentioned a local KWPN breeder stopped branding when they stopped in Holland to make it less obvious that the horses were not imported.

Louise said in marketability the CD in the brand may actually reduce the prestige associated with the H. She has actually seen Dutch horses born in , shipped to Holland for starting under and then sold for more as an import.

Regula talked about how years of seeing foals branded and that it just doesn't bother them. She also has seen puppies getting microchips and they find it painful and uncomfortable.

Louise mentioned concerns about tissue granulation around the site of the microchip. There was some more discussion around the location of the chip. Quarter Horse breeders have suggested under the lip is the best place for the chip to be implanted, rather than in the neck. They have found the lip less invasive, less prone to migrate and easy to scan. But there is also concern in a study about possible nerve damage in the lip.

6) Inspection Schedule for 2019

Dr Christmann likely will be the inspector and the tour starts August 28/29 in Ontario at Parkwood. The closed inspection at the RCMP breeding farm follows on August 30 and continues August 31 at Southlane Farm in Vankleek Hill. The PEI Inspection is September 1, 2019 and following that are the Vancouver/Out West inspections.

7) Awards and Incentives

As mentioned earlier the rewards and incentives have been well received.

What are the reasons for owners and breeders to bring mares and foals to inspections? Mares inspected are eligible for premium status. Foals can be registered, examined by two inspectors (usually), and it is a learning experience. There are foal awards, ribbons and prizes.

There is the $50 reduction in the inspection fee for foals. There have been good shows in the Eastern Club and people are willing to travel to get to them.

The Gold Medal award started in 2018. Scores are not typically given out by the judges at the inspection. They prefer to use descriptive wording, but do use scores to differentiate the foals and rank them. The scores are used to award gold medal status. Dressage foals are scored on conformation, type and gaits; Jumper scores also factor in pedigree.

There were 19 gold medal awards given out in 2018 in Canada – the most of any of the clubs outside Germany.

Other awards are the Fritz Floto award for the MPT and the Albert Kley award for the Top 10 foals in Canada.

The Awards and Incentives are one area where some of the funds from the CHS could be spent.

Jackie explained that when she purchased her stallion Glori from the US, they told her he was the AHS working Hunter Champion. She didn't know about it, because there isn't anything comparable in Canada. She suggested that some of the money could be spent towards awards for grown, showing horses. Another idea is to create more social media buzz for horses performing well that are Registered Canadian Hanoverians.

The problem with this is Germany and the US have very good systems for tracking statistics. In Canada there is not a centralized system, so it would have to be something people register for or submit information somehow.

There have been attempts to get something into the Royal with no luck. There must be some way to get more recognition for the Hanoverian breed for the breeders, riders, coaches that club members want to sell their horses to. This would be especially beneficial for breeders who sell horses that are going under saddle.

There would have to be standards set for an award for going horses. And you would have to market it – get the word out through breeders/paying members.

A horse bred by Regula had won a Maritime-bred class at Old Home Week, but then was taken because both parents of the horse were not located in the Maritimes. This definition of Maritime-bred is something that is common in 4-H clubs, but wasn't obvious to the rider and it was disappointing.

Jackie and Stephanie talked about Brand Recognition for the Hanoverian breed.

Jackie mentioned how East Coast Warmbloods (on FB) is a place where the local breeders pool resources for ad space.

Stephanie suggested that some of the money available could be used to pay someone who can take out the horse piece and focus on the business side of it.

8) Hanoverian Portal

Ruth Hanselpacker gave a power point presentation on the database resource provided by the Verband.

Any active member can sign in with their Membership number (6 digit code) and password. Members can see information on mares as long as breeding certificates have been submitted. th They currently are sent in by mail and due September 30 . In the portal you can enter the date of breeding, submit a birth declaration or no foal result. For the mares you own, you can see the Pedigree, Inspection, history of foals, performance/MPT scores, etc.

A newer feature for younger mares is the Linear scoring which is a report you can view.

*It was noted that in the Portal, the linear report was generated in German and would be useful if it were translated to English. Inga took note of this feedback.

You can only see mares you own and some of the information on active stallions. You can change the mare activation – for example if you have a young mare you don't plan to breed, or an older mare that you are no longer breeding. It was also mentioned though that re-activating may be less cost effective than just leaving them active. You can also add a mare to your portal (eg. If you purchased a mare from another breeder).

9) Dr Christmann sent along a letter. (refer to following article)

He outlined the Report highlights from 2018. The 2016-18 Inspection trips Outside of Germany (not including and US) Canada was the largest breeder. There were 115 foals, plus 4 Rhinelander foals in 2018 from Canada alone.

There was a powerpoint presentation that Dr Ludwig Christmann presented to the AHS in February which was also shared. It highlighted a lot of statistics, and there was a discussion of the new Linear profiles which provide more valuable information. Ruth said she would email the Power Point presentation to the group.

The next Breeders Orientation Course will be held October 18-26, 2019. Inga asked who had attended in the past and Samuel was the only member present who had.

Samuel said it was an excellent opportunity to see farms and stallions and foals. He said there are farms where you can see 30 foals by a stallion, unlike in Canada where you might see 1 or 2 by a stallion you are considering. He attended the course 5 or 6 years ago and still talks to a lot of the contacts he made there. It is in October during the stallion licensing. There are around 600 stallions presented and they choose 100 for presentation, and then most of those go to auction. So it is an opportunity to see them and a chance to buy for amazing prices. He also said the part of the course by Ludwig Christmann on bloodlines that is excellent.

The presentation also mentioned the Pilot project of determining whether Dressage and Jumper horses should have the same selection standards. There was a new evaluation scheme outlined.

10) Other business and Ideas

Samuel mentioned that Cheval Quebec awarded the Best Dressage horse of 2018 to a horse that was bred in Quebec and is likely a Hanoverian, which should be something the CHS can use to promote Hanoverians doing well.

Criteria were mentioned such as scores above a certain level, gold-rated shows, horses would have to attend at least 3 competitions, etc.

Jackie suggested perhaps having others nominate a horse for the award and explain why it would be eligible might be used instead of just submitting scores.

Inga also mentioned the Hannoveraner Book which she helped translate to English is now available for purchase. She has the book in German and gave her English copy to Ruth. Samuel said the part of the website when you go to actually order the English copy is in German, so he wasn't able to figure out how to purchase it.

11) Award Presentations

There were two awards presented. Eveline Keyser received a framed award for the High Score Jumper bred MPT Mare in 2018 Virginia Cooke and Andrew Kielly of Capall Warmbloods received a framed award for breeding one of the Top 10 Dressage Foals in 2018.

12) Additional Informational Presentations

After the main meeting, Lisa Schultz and Thomasina Orr presented on behalf of Pfera. Lisa discussed SEO (search engine optimization) and Marketing for breeders highlighting a lot of the tools available especially through social media. Thomasina then discussed the software available for breeders with Foal Point and the Foal Point Scanner by Pfera. Jackie Harlow discussed tips on sales photos for horses, common obstacles, and editing tips; and then Amanda Stright finished the photography discussion about how to work with a photographer, and some of the tools to get the right shot on your own.

Canadian Hanoverian Society Chairman’s Report to the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Canada Hanoverian Breeders Club Inc. by Michael Boyd

I am very sorry that I could not be with you this year at the Eastern Club’s annual meeting. Too much going on in retirement!

I would like to submit the following report to the meeting:

1. Canadian Hanoverian financial report for 2018. The CHS continues to be funded only by the annual Celle frozen semen sales and the Stallion Service Auction. The CHS pays for club insurance covering both Eastern and Western club activities, insurance for our semen shipment and inventory, Fritz Floto awards and Albert Kley awards along with a number of other expenses.

As the financial report shows the CHS has a healthy cash balance and ideas from members would be welcome as to new programs that the CHS, Eastern and Western clubs could sponsor.

2. Our inspection tour has been set for this year and Inga will review. We expect that the judge from Germany will be Dr. Christmann. Our bulletin director, Isabelle Schmid, willing be sending out a bulletin in the next month or two with information on the inspection tour. Members should submit articles or information to her for the next bulletin.

3. I think that our awards program is being very well received. We continue with the Fritz Floto Award, an engraved pewter plate, for the top point dressage bred mare and top point jumper bred mare in each year’s Mare Performance Test. This past year the Verband initiated the Gold Medal program for foals presented at inspection sites and this has been very well received. We continue to award the Albert Kley Top Ten Foal Award for the top ten foals presented at our annual inspection sites. The top dressage foal and the top jumper foal are additionally recognized with a pewter plate.

4. No breed associations in Germany will be allowed to brand foals beginning this year. We have received approval from the Verband that we can continue to brand foals in Canada at the option of the breeder/owner. Foals that do not receive a brand will have to be microchipped and I am in touch with Germany asking which chips and reader system they use. Once I have feedback from the Verband I will be in touch with our breeders on this issue. I suspect that it makes the most sense for us to use chips that our parent club uses and the same reader system.

Letter from Dr. Christmann to the members of the CHS

Dear delegates, dear friends and supporters of our Hanoverian horse,

It has been a good custom to give a written review of the year in those years where we do not have an international meeting. December 2018 just did not have enough days. Please excuse that you didn’t get this letter in time, but January / February are still good times to look back to the previous year.

Verden Auctions

A big highlight of 2018 was the stallion licensing in Verden at the end of October with an amazing auction and a top priced two-and-a-half-year-old stallion by Vivaldi out of a dam by Dancier, selling for more than two million Euro. With regard to the jumpers, it was very promising that the Olympic Irish rider Cian O’Connor bought several very talented young horses at the elite riding horse auction in October and at the stallion licensing. I have the impression that the number of horses sold at the Verden auction, who were bred outside Germany by our international breeders has grown. Almost at every auction there are several horses, bred by our international breeders. Just at the stallion licensing in October there were 11 colts where the breeder and/or owner were from Belgium, , , Netherlands, Poland, Sweden or Switzerland.

WEG Tryon

In sport, the World Equestrian Games at Tryon were the highlight of the year. Hanoverians and Rhineland horses helped to win medals in dressage and in show- for Germany, Great Britain and the US. It is especially worthwhile mentioning that two of the horses in the British team who won the bronze medal in dressage were British bred. These were Carl Hester’s Hawtins Delicato by Diamond Hit/Regazzoni, bred by Judith Davis, who runs Hawtins Stud, and Super Nova II by De Niro/Weltmeyer, ridden by Spencer Wilton and bred by Eva-Maria Kirby. Congratulations to our British breeders! No Brexit in our Hannoveraner community.

In the US we had the second year of stallion testing after the new German model, where stallions have to do three-day sport tests in two consecutive years. The test was very well received by North American breeders and stallion owners and can be a model for other countries overseas, where it is too far away to ship horses to Germany. Top dressage stallion was the four-year-old Rhinelander Sole Mio by Stanford/Donnerschwee. He was licensed in Verden 2016 and sold to Leslie Waterman, Tennessee. Before the test he already had won the American Young Horse Championships, ridden by Emily Miles. Please find attached a pdf-file of a presentation, which I showed at the annual meeting of the American Hanoverian Society in Phoenix/Arizona in the middle of January. It highlights the most successful horses in 2018. One special point worth mentioning is, that there are quite a few very successful Rhineland horses, which show that the Rhinelander is a quality breed and which might help you to promote the Rhinelander in your country.

Branding of foals

The ban of branding, which is effective January 1st, 2019 will have a big impact on our registration processes. Foals, which do not get branded must be microchipped. This is not a problem in Europe, where microchipping is mandatory anyway, but in some overseas countries, where this is not the case.

It is positive, that our board gave green light that branding can be continued in other countries where branding is not prohibited yet.

Linear profiling

A growing number of horses have linear profiles now. Recently the board of Hannoveraner Verband have expressed the aim that in 2020 all inspected mares should get a linear profile. We have started to introduce this system also abroad and we have to continue to do so in order to fully integrate it into the inspection procedure. This also applies to all performance tested mares.

Gold Medals for foals

The Gold Medals were introduced in 2018 and very well received by all breeders who had such a top foal. Overall Gold Medals were awarded to 89 foals, which number does not include the foals from our daughter societies. For 2019, the American Hanoverian Society has decided to introduce the Gold Medals as well.

Inspection tours 2018

The numbers of registered foals abroad as well as inspected mares and new members are pretty stable. With almost 600 foals a slight growth trend with regard to the number of registered foals is still intact, but growth is more difficult to achieve now compared to the first years where Hannoveraner Verband expanded abroad since 2007. The Hannoveraner Verband registered foals in 25 countries. An estimated number of 600 foals were registered by our four daughter societies in Australia, Great Britain, and the US. So including the foals registered by the daughter societies, an estimated number of around 1,200 Hanoverian or Rhineland foals registered outside Germany.

Finances of Hannoveraner International

The balance of account of Hannoveraner International on January 1st , 2018 was €10,207.21 The balance of account on December 31st , 2018 was € 9,576.47. Revenues were €1,500 fees from Hannoveraner Verband. Major expenses were traveling costs of Anne Kollberg for travels to Verden (€ 737.90) and costs for the Gold Medals for foals (€ 1256.64). There was not much more, but a detailed list of revenues and expenses can be mailed upon request.

International Meeting 2019

2019 is the turn for our International Meeting. As always, we will have it during ‘Verden International’ (August 6th – 11th ), our international in August. The International Meeting will be on Wednesday, August 7th, one day after the Herwart von der Decken-Show, where the best three-year-old mares from the local mare shows compete with each other. ‘Verden International’ has a lot to offer for the Hannoveraner enthusiast with championships for three- and four-year-old riding horses, including stallions, dressage championships for four- to six-year-old horses and Hannoveraner Championships for young jumpers aged four to six. We would like to welcome as many of our delegates as possible.

American Hanoverian Society joins VIT

VIT is the database of Hannoveraner Verband. It is one of the biggest equestrian databases in Germany. Its headquarters are in Verden as well, just one kilometre from our head office. The AHS is the third daughter society after British Hanoverian Horse Society and Hanoverian Horse Society of Australia to join VIT. One major reason for the AHS to join the new services of VIT like Dedroid, an App, where linear profiles can be collected via mobile phone or MeinHannoveraner (see below).

Mein Hannoveraner

This is a special online service for members of Hannoveraner Verband, including our members abroad, where members have access to their data in our database. In this way, members have control of their data and they can conduct some services online, like cancellation of broodmares or register a mare for a mare show. In addition, forms like the covering certificate can be downloaded. This is a wonderful tool and especially useful for our breeders abroad.

Breed Orientation Course 2019

In June 2018 we had a very good course with 20 participants from , Canada, the US and South Africa. This year we will have our “stallion course”, starting October 18 and ending after the stallion auction on October 26. Demand for this course is already good.

Young Breeders’ activities

The World Championships for Young Breeders this year will be in Austria in the middle of July. The American Hanoverian Society plans to send a team there, which is great.

Pilot project for the evaluation of jumping horses: When we evaluate breeding stock, we use the same score sheet for dressage horses and for jumping horses. Our current system gives an advantage to the more dressage-oriented horses. Therefore there was a working group who made a proposal to change this. They designed a new score sheet with different traits to be evaluated for the jumping horse. You can see this also in the attached presentation. The board decided to test this in 2019 and maybe implement it in the years to come.

English version of book ‘HANNOVERANER’

The English version is available at Hannoveraner Verband. It would be great if you all helped to promote this book. It can be purchased either through our office in Verden or through the publisher FN Verlag. It also explains the development of the Hanoverian horse in different countries. You will find many familiar names in it. It is just a great gift for any Hanoverian breeder.

Finally, I would like to ask everybody for assistance. It is our joint effort to promote our Hanoverian horse. In order to do this we need facts. We are very eager to publish international sport results of our horses. Results of the big international competitions are not the problem. Here we easily find the necessary information through the internet or the FEI database. A problem is national championships in your countries. We would like to ask you to follow these championships and report to us, if possible with information for photographers, if there are successes of Hanoverian horses.

I would like to thank everybody for your continuous support and your enthusiasm for our Hanoverian horse.

Best regards, Dr. Ludwig Christmann

Miscellaneous:

For the list of Active Canadian-based Hanoverian Stallions please refer to: http://www.canadianhanoverians.com/stallions/

Notification of foaling - Please confirm the births of your foals by filling in the Notification of Foaling document, which was mailed to members who submitted a Breeding Certificate to the Verband; or do so online at http://en.hannoveraner.com/home/service/international/foalnotification/

Horse ads on the CHS website (under "Marketplace"): A reminder that the canadianhanoverians.com website offers breeders a chance to submit free sales ads for their Hanoverian horses / foals. Use the "How to Place a Listing" app under the "Marketplace" tab.

Dry Shippers: The club owns two dry shippers which are available for rent to club members at $50 per use of two weeks or less, plus all shipping charges. Contact Michael Boyd at [email protected] or (416) 239-0624.

As this newsletter and periodic updates are sent by email, please forward your updated email address to Isabelle at [email protected] or call (613) 272-2301. Thank you!